PRODUCE OF A SINGLE COW. 119 



from the whey ; this seldom comes to market, but is sold 

 at a low price to labourers. It will not keep, and is 

 unfit for salting. 



Speaking of the quantity of butter produced by a 

 single cow, an experienced writer says : " A good cow 

 should produce six pounds of butter per week in sum- 

 mer, and half that quantity in winter, allowing from 

 six weeks to two months for her being dry before calv- 

 ing : that is, 1 20 Ibs. in twenty weeks after calving, and 

 80 Ibs. in the remainder of the time till she goes dry, 

 in all about 200 Ibs. in the year. If she produces more, 

 she may be considered as a superior cow ; if less, she is 

 below par. To produce this quantity the pasture must 

 be good ; and if we allow three acres to keep a cow in 

 grass and hay for a year, which is not very far from the 

 mark, the butter made will produce about IQL at the dis- 

 tance of fifty miles from London, if it is sold in a fresh 

 state, and the calf about 15s. at a week old. This does 

 little more than pay rent and expenses ; the profit must 

 be made by feeding pigs, or making skim milk cheese." 



The consumption of butter in England is immense. 

 The produce of all our own dairies is consumed at home ; 

 yet we are obliged to import large quantities from Ire- 

 land and from the north of Europe ; and these quantities 

 are increasing year by year. Our exports of butter are 

 all of the produce of Ireland, and these are also very 

 considerable. 



But it is time that we return to the dairy, and notice 

 the making of cheese, which is likewise a most import- 

 ant business, and the source of large and profitable 

 traffic. To those who are ignorant of dairy-work, it 

 will be necessary to remark that milk is composed of 

 three distinct substances cream, curd, and whey. The 

 cream separates first, and is taken off to form butter ; 

 the milk, if left to become sour, also separates into two 

 parts, curd and whey ; but as the cheese is injured by 

 allowing the milk to become sour, an acid is used 

 which soon curdles the milk, without injuring its qua- 



